Minnesota 4-H Horse Project
Bowls
Chairpersons: Meg Sax and Bobbie Knutson
Dates - See Calendar U of M Bowl Site
New Code of Conduct
The Horse Project Bowl is a knowledge bowl contest between 4-H'ers on two teams. The Regional contests are usually held in March at 5 locations around the state. The State contest is held in April. All project areas, including Dairy, Goat, Dog, General Livestock, Horse, Poultry, Rabbit, and Wildlife are held at the same time.
The two age groups are Junior (grades 3 through 8) and Senior (grades 4 through one year past high school). Teams may consist of 3-6 4-H'ers. A typical team is 4 members with 1 or 2 alternates. Three person teams are allowed. Twelve (12) Junior and twelve (12) Senior teams are chosen from the regional contests to compete at the state contest. The top winners from these teams are sent to the following national contests:
·
Western National 4-H Classic in
·
Quarter Horse Congress in
The Senior National Trips require that all team members
and alternates must be beyond their 14th birthday, but not have reached
their 19th birthday on January 1st of the year they qualify for the national
contest. This ruling will affect the Senior trip to
Knowledge Bowl contests are a fun way to learn about horses. The 4-H'ers develop other skills such as teamwork, study skills, and confidence in speaking. The questions are taken from a group of reference materials, listed below. Many teams also compete in the Hippology Contest, held during the State Horse Show. The information studied in both contests is very similar. For further information see the Hippology Contest.
Beginning teams start with a group of interested youth and adults, from one or more counties. Most teams meet weekly to practice in the months before the regional contests. Many have developed lists of questions to use in practice. For those just starting, having each team member write questions on 3 x 5 cards each week will develop a data bank of questions for practice, as well as encourage the members to study the materials.
Hints
· Have each member take a reference and write a preset number of questions each week from that reference. Write the question on the front of the card and the answer on the back. The name and page number of the reference should be included with the answer. These cards can also be used as flash cards.
· If all members have copies of one reference, work on a particular chapter or topic each week, giving them the page numbers they should study. This way they don't feel so overwhelmed by the amount of material to study.
· Play games to break the monotony of just asking questions. One example: Write the names of breeds on slips of paper. Have each draw out a slip, give the country of origin and a fact about that breed. To make it more interesting, a beach ball can be used with the thrower drawing the slip and the catcher having to give the information. You can use other topics, such as colors, markings, diseases, conformation faults, etc.
· Learn the parts of the horse visually. Put a big picture on tag board and glue on Velcro strips at each part. Have the part names on cards with the other half of the Velcro glued on. Each member attaches his part. This can be used for bones, parts of saddles, bridles, etc. Color photos of horse colors, markings are helpful.
· To encourage teamwork, put the picture of the horse on one sheet of paper with blank lines at the parts. On a second piece of paper list the parts. Have the teams work together to fill in the lines.
· Memorize. Teach the team members to memorize certain information, such as definitions, numbers (such as normal temperature, etc), information for bonus questions (these have multiple answers-the question may ask for 4 parts, for example)
· Have practice sessions. Hold mock contests, even if it is only with the 4 team members. This encourages them to learn the rules of the contest. If you can borrow a buzzer system, do so at least once so the team members become familiar with it. For weekly practice without buzzers, try using the "call bells" available at office supply stores.
· Arrange a practice match with a neighboring county to give members some experience.
·
Ask for help. The state Horse Bowl Committee
members are willing to help. You may contact
Meg Sax 320/983-2679 (email: msax@maxminn.com)
or
References
The current reference list is on the state bowl site.
National 4-H Horse Project Materials:
Horse Science (National 4-H Council - Revised 2001)
Horses and Horsemanship (National 4-H Council - Revised 2001)
MN 4-H Horse Project Materials:
*MN 4-H Horsemanship/Training Manual
*MN 4-H Horse Program Rule Book (MI-2620-D) Current version
*MN 4-H Horse Member Achievement Program Booklet
(MI-3839-GO)
* Available in PDF format on this web site under
Materials.
4-H Performance Horse Judging
Preparing a 4-H Horse Judging Team
Other Reference Materials:
The Horse (Evans), 2nd Edition
Horses and Horsemanship (Ensminger), 6th
and 7th Editions
Illustrated Dictionary of Equine Terms (compiled by
(The